During India’s September sell-off, individuals shifted to a net purchase position of ₹105.72 billion in the National Stock Exchange of India’s (NSE) cash market as the number of active participants declined.
NSE’s October Market Pulse shows the buying followed combined net sales of ₹56.74 billion in July and August. The Nifty 50 fell 6.1% in September, its second consecutive monthly decline, and was down 13.4% for 2026 through Sept. 30. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers that month, while domestic institutional investors bought about ₹760 billion, the exchange reported.
The number of individual investors active in the cash market fell to 12.3 million from 12.5 million in August, and their share of cash-market turnover declined to 32.2%. Participation in equity derivatives rose to 3.53 million from 3.39 million. NSE’s individual-investor category includes domestic individuals, nonresident Indians, sole proprietorships and Hindu Undivided Families.
Primary-market activity continued during the decline. NSE counted 32 mainboard listings across India’s two exchanges in September, the highest monthly listing count on record. The listings raised more than ₹400 billion. Cumulative FY27 primary-market investment by individual applicants investing up to ₹200,000 reached ₹195.75 billion through Sept. 30, compared with ₹139.25 billion through Aug. 31. The difference between the NSE reports implies ₹56.5 billion in September investment.
Reuters cited higher oil prices and global rate increases as pressures on Indian shares. It also quoted Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities, who pointed to Middle East tensions and a Federal Reserve rate increase as part of a weak global backdrop, while a busy local IPO market limited liquidity support for falling shares.
The Economic Times quoted Akshat Garg, head of research and product at Choice Wealth, describing the purchases as a “classic buy-the-dip response, not a return of speculative froth.”
